A Weekend Getaway in Litchfield County

I recently headed to Litchfield County, one of my favorite parts of Connecticut, to capture images for a Litchfield Travel Guide by CT Eats Out, in partnership with Manchester Honda. Check out the full CT Eats Out post here. We visited some of the best restaurants in the state, cruised along scenic routes and rolling hills, tasted local wine and beer, and proved that you don’t need to leave the state to have a great weekend away. Friday night we checked into the White Hart Inn, a quaint Inn located in Salisbury, CT and rested up before we began our big weekend.

On Saturday morning we were up bright and early and headed out for breakfast at the nearby Mountainside Cafe. We fueled up on coffee, The Super Mario skillet (eggs, potatoes, pancetta, parmesan, cremini mushrooms, roasted cherry tomatoes and arugula), yogurt parfait, and streusel French toast, then we were off to continue our exploration.

We headed to Litchfield Center for shopping and antiquing, then once we had (mostly) digested our breakfast, we drove to Arethusa Farm Dairy for old-fashioned ice cream. Can I tell you how much I love their strawberry ice cream? All their ice cream is made with milk from dairy cows on their farm only miles away — and there are real strawberries mixed in!

The road trip continued as we meandered along roads to Kent Falls Brewing Company, a true farm brewery that sits on a 50-acre farm in Kent, CT. I managed to capture these beautiful photos despite tasting mostly every beer on their menu, and I thank Alycia for being the designated sober drive on this portion of the trip. New moms have to enjoy themselves every chance they can get!

After a fun day of exploration we were happy to find ourselves back at the Inn and conveniently walked downstairs for dinner at the Inn’s restaurant, led by British chef Annie Wayte. The restaurant offers elevated British-inspired comfort food. Besides their food being completely divine, I was so inspired by the gorgeous design of the space, including the moody blue tones, vintage wallpaper, and original artwork. We indulged in fish and chips, scotch eggs, and house-made pretzel. After a nightcap, it was off to bed.

In the morning we woke up refreshed and headed downstairs to enjoy a delicious breakfast right at White Hart Provisions. Provisions is an adorable casual eatery offering breakfast for locals, and a general store for their guests.

Fully caffeinated, we were back on the road and today we were off to Kent Falls Park for a nice morning “hike,” or in our case, a lovely brisk walk.

At this point we had officially burned off all of our breakfast calories, or so we would like to pretend, and we were ready to eat lunch, so we headed to Swyft, also located in Kent. It is impossible for me to resist wood-fired pizzas, but their farm-driven ingredients sealed the deal. Not only do they offer pizza, but their small plates and seasonal entrees will keep you coming back for more. We enjoyed their take on the classic bolognese, a farm salad that was almost too pretty to eat, and the Rosso pizza, with stracciatella, garlic, oregano and tomato. Enough said!

When people think of Connecticut, they often don’t realize the landscape is so vast. Litchfield is known for their rolling hills but I bet you didn’t know they also have many beautiful lakes? We chose to take the scenic route by Lake Waramaug so we could stop at the ever-popular Hopkins Vineyard.

Nearing the end of our adventure, and for fear of experiencing the Sunday scaries, we knew we had to end on an extremely high note. We decided to enjoy our last meal of the trip at Community Table, led by British chef Paul Pearson. Chef Paul’s dishes elevate seemingly simple, local ingredients. Items on the menu change seasonally, but we tried the peekytoe crab and corn hushpuppies and slow cooked Maine halibut with sweetcorn, potatoes, toasted corn husk broth and lime. The scandinavian-inspired interior will leave you feeling warm and cozy and ready for a good rest after an amazing weekend away.